@polecam,"Licensing has to become a plan B, if offers are...

@polecam,

"Licensing has to become a plan B, if offers are embarrassing low, let WD develop a market product under it's non exclusive offer."

Agree.
Licensing could be plan B (not very realistic though, because 4DS has no more employee to take care of the license contract), but 4DS cannot refuse a licence to HGST.

4DS has already granted an option for a license to HGST.
(From 2015 Prospectus)


So, unless the JDA has changed dramatically, if HGST ask for a licence, they will get it, at conditions mentionned in the JDA (see the 2015 prospectus).

Now, we can't be sure that the previous management has not hidden some change in the JDA, under an abusive use of the NDA.

For example, we learned in the November 4 2021 technical update that, under a previous amendment to the developpment agreement with imec, imec has been granted a royalty on futur licenses.



The new amendment mentionned in the November 4 technical update is to announce that this entitlement to 8% of royalties is now capped to 5 million euros.

4DS board also said that it consider this capped royalty to be non-material, as royalties are only due after successfull commercialisation of the technology.


GIVING AWAY PART OF FUTUR ROYALTIES IS NON-MATERIAL !

How could ASX let them go with that ?

How many part of 4DS futur income (royalties or outgight selling) has been given away to Stanford, to X or Y ?

Non-material !
Futur earnings are what investors use to base their decision to invest in a spec.

Talk about the moral rectitude of the previous board.
Rather hiding under the famous scientist AUTISM Security Blanket to comit durty tricks !!

Because, nothing in the NDA with Imec did forbid to talk about it.
Proof : change the board and the truth come out.

If JD has been intrumental to this change, God bless him !



Back to the JDA with HGST/Western Digital.

This JDA expire on 30 june every year even if the renewal could happen earlier (May 13 in 2021).

It is not certain that the board will let it expire, because they can terminate it on a 30 days notice.

... But during those 30 days, HGST could ask for a licence.

And, as DM told us at an AGM a few years ago, none wants to buy a company with a string attached.

A buyer paying good money will want an exclusive right on the technology.



So if WvdH and KH are serious about selling the company, they must let the JDA expire end of june.

If the JDA is renewed in May, that could mean two things :

1 - The 4DS board has been convinced to use some HGST component to make the final Megabit chip (selector ?), or some other critical contribution.
=> HGST becomes the only potential buyer --- And if HGST/ WDC doesn't buy and only take a licence, we are sold for peanuts to a licensing company (Rambus ?)


2 - Western Digital has already made an offer and the board has accepted it.
=> The JDA is only here to lock the deal until the final technical results - and the final price - is known, somewhere in july.


Best interest for shareholders ?
NO MORE JDA !


Remenber when DM told us to not ask for technical details ?
Because bigger interests were at stake and Big Brother WDC will not be happy ?

How many times he lectured us, poor stupid peasants, about the respect due to WDC and how 4DS will left out in the cold if WDC was pushed to terminate the JDA ?

Well, enough with that !
Let's go alone on market and face what we really worth.




All imo. No advice.